Ward attended
Pius X High School. As a senior, he broke his wrist and only played in 4 games. He also practiced
baseball and
basketball. He accepted a football scholarship from the
University of California, Los Angeles. As a
redshirt freshman with the
Bruins, he was a backup at linebacker. As a sophomore, he was named a starter at
outside linebacker, tallying 56 tackles (sixth on the team), 7.5 sacks (second on the team) and 12.5 tackles for loss (second on the team). As a junior, the team changed to a
4-3 defense and he became a starter at
defensive end. He was limited with a knee injury and missed 2 games. The change wasn't a good position fit and his stats dropped to 27 tackles and one sack. As a senior, he was a starter at
outside linebacker, posting 60 tackles (second on the team) and 11 tackles for loss. Against the
University of Michigan, he had 8 tackles and 2 interceptions, one of them was
Tom Brady's first
college football pass, which he returned for a 42-yard touchdown. ==Professional career==